


dreamless sleep

by when_the_planets_align



Category: RWBY
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Comfort, Damn, Fluff, Kinda, Martial Arcs, Mostly Martial Arcs lmao, Multi, Nightmares, Polya JNR, Polyam JNR, my first fic with my fave ship and my fave character isn’t even in half of it, poly JNR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/when_the_planets_align/pseuds/when_the_planets_align
Summary: Ren has a history of severe nightmares, Nora knows how to calm Ren down but is out of town, Jaune has to try for the first time alone(this is from a prompt of tumblr, i just filled in the ‘a’ ‘b’ and ‘c’ with their names.)
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Oscar Pine & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Oscar Pine & Lie Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	dreamless sleep

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHH HELLO RWBY FNDM!!!! my first ever rwby fic that i’ve completed and it’s of my favorite ship that deserves more than they get tbh. anyways! found the prompt of tumblr and i really hope you enjoy this! i had so much fun writing it too.
> 
> also catch me out here writing a long ass story that could’ve been 1,000 words or less but it isn’t. and catch not even adding my favorite character into it fml i hate it here. 
> 
> also sorry for any typos, i wrote a lot of this pretty late at night, and i’m publishing it late at night. please let me know if there are any typos and where! i’ll try and fix it as soon as i can :)

It was no secret they all suffered great pains from their pasts. Every single one of them lived their day to day lives plagued by their own individual horrors. But they coped, and moved on in the waking world. 

But the sleeping world worked much differently than that of the waking. 

This was the case for Ren, to which it was no secret to anyone that he’d always, unfortunately, be haunted by that of which had happened long ago. Sure, he went to therapy, and had sworn off ever using his semblance again to mask the emotions he deemed weak or unfit by his standards, a promise he’d made to his entire team after nearly bringing them all down because of that exact reason. But as stated before, the state of sleeping worked in ways the waking could not fully understand. 

Nightmares. Everyone got them from time to time. Everyone’s been a little kid who watched something awful occur, whether on tv or in the house, and woke up in the middle of the night, heart racing and breaths quick and short. Most of the time, these nightmares were simply made from the imagination, the inner workings of the mind choosing something we saw and deciding it’d be fun to twist it in a terrible narrative of splendid brilliance. 

Not everyone had to deal with their past horrors breathing new life time and time again, night after night. But Ren did. 

And Ren had Nora. Ren has always had Nora, there by his side in a heartbeat (or, more often than not, already at his side) when his screams echoed in the dead of night, lost to twinkling stars up above. 

Rubbing soothing circles in his back and holding his hand while whispering sweet nothings into his ear had always been her routine to calm him down and bring him back to his senses, back to reality (which didn’t include burning villages and screaming people and rampaging Grimm).

Always sweet and tender, that girl. Even in the moment of time when she, herself, was broken and had a hole carved out of her heart because of a loss of someone so grand, making her hollow and work artificially, she never failed to accommodate him in his moments of fear. 

He sometimes wondered, in the dead of night when he was too awake to shut his eyes and sleep, what he’d done to ever deserve such a woman. What good karma he’d earned to receive such a blessing. Because it felt like, a lot of the time (at least according to him), that he’d done no good deeds, nothing of the sorts to receive her in turn for any good favors. 

(He’d been told once, by his therapist, not to think like that. To just enjoy and appreciate that fact he had her, not the why’s or how’s. It was easier said then done, but he likes to think he’d made some progress in that train of thought.)

Saturday evening, and Nora was getting ready to head out. A mission for a little town not too far from where their current residence was, on the outer skirts of the main kingdom of Mistral. They needed one huntsman to stay overnight and catch a Grimm that pestered them when the moon was high, and Nora had just the right weapon with just the right fighting style to take it down easily. 

She was excited, to put it lightly, bouncing and humming as she packed some food from the fridge into a little lunch box, just incase she’d need it. 

These types of missions weren’t uncommon, where one of them would run off for a night or two to help out some locals with a small problem. It was true, they much preferred to work together, all four of them, but for some missions (like this one), four would be too much and would only set them back from success. So Nora was taking the mission alone, the house abuzz in getting ready for her departure. 

Oscar stood at the sink, washing the dishes from the supper Ren had made them (the boy  _insisted_ on being the one to clean them) in preparation for Nora’s mission. He didn’t want her to leave on an empty stomach and bad spirits, did he? No one did. 

Jaune returned from the bedroom holding a small, pink backpack in his arms and another small duffel bag, placed around his shoulders. He dropped them at the front door, brushing his hands off before returning to the center of activity in the kitchen. 

Oscar let out a roaring laugh at something Nora was chattering on about, nearly dropping a plate in the process, causing him to laugh harder and Nora to be sent into a fit of giggles. 

These nights were good. These nights had just the right amount of rhythm and routine in them for Ren to get by, but it also worked alongside a sense of wildness and unknowing, enough for the others to enjoy. 

Ren sipped his tea, chuckling at the current fit of giggles Oscar and Nora currently were. He watched as they calmed down, Nora wiping her eyes before picking up the last of her stuff from the counter, giving a small kiss on the cheek to Jaune as she passed him on her way to her bags by the door. 

At last, she was fully packed and slung the small duffel bag over her shoulder, one strap of her backpack over the other. She before the door, looking at the rest of her team that had ventured over to where she was in preparation to say goodbye. 

“Well,” she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment, a soft smile playing at her lips. “This is it. One night! What will you boys do without me?” 

A scoff, a laugh, a “well, she’s not wrong.” Nora reaches out her arms in their small moment of vulnerability and scooped them all into a group hug, holding them tightly and giving them a squeeze. Letting go, she, again, kissed Jaune’s cheek, pecked Ren on the nose, and ruffled Oscar’s hair while giving a kiss to his temple. Finally, she stepped back and opened the door, her team following. They watched as she walked down to the train station, her giving a wave before she had to take the left turn and be out of sight. 

They stood on the porch for a moment, soaking in the cool, humid air as the sky displayed a brilliant array of colors. It wasn’t until Oscar walked back inside, mentioning over his shoulder something about a movie. Jaune and Ren quickly followed. 

It wasn’t long before the movie was picked, popcorn was made, and blankets were arranged on the coach. The sun was just barely peaking out above the horizon now, all that was left of daylight a dim blue in the sky. 

Oscar practically leaped onto the couch with his bowl of popcorn, taking a blanket and proceeding to turn himself into a burrito. Jaune sat next to him, bringing the young boy into his arms and holding him. Ren walked over, popcorn and water in hand (no, Oscar, we are  not  drinking soda). He sat down on the other side of Oscar, giving him his water and curling his legs up on the couch. 

As the movie played, Ren couldn’t help but have his gaze wander over to the two boys beside him. Another thought that plagued his mind occasionally is how he managed to open his heart enough to let them in. How he’d managed to find the strength to hold more people close, as he did now. 

But was it him? Did he open his heart, or did they get a wrench and pry him open? He didn’t care. He didn’t care at all how they wormed their way into his heart, all he cared about was them now, safe and secure in the depths of his love, forever. 

Before he knew it, the movie was over and Oscar had successfully passed out in Jaune’s lap. Said knight cradled the boy in his arms, quietly carrying him to his room at the end of the hall. Ren decided he’d had enough of tonight, and got around to cleaning up. He set the cups and bowls in the sink, deciding then he’d clean them tomorrow morning. 

As he walked back to his room, Jaune was closing the door to Oscar’s. They made short eye contact in the stillness of the house, before Ren found his way into his room, Jaune surely following. It seemed like only a second had passed when they were both dressed appropriately, and crashed on the bed in exhaustion. Apparently, as they had learned before, getting ready for one of them to head off on a solo mission was draining, not just physically but also mentally. 

Pyrrha still ghosted every step they took, every decision they made, every word spoken, every glance took. Ren already knew the feeling would never go away for as long as he lived, but he could almost see, sometimes, the train of thought working on Jaune’s face, the question _of_ _does the pain ever end?_

_No_ ,  he wanted to tell him. But he knew better than to jump out and answer unspoken questions like that to Jaune. 

But Pyrrha still ghosted them. And before every solo mission, they each had some terrible thought of the one leaving, of if this could possibly be the last time they see their shining face in their small, rented home. They each thought of Pyrrha. Each remembered her sparkling eyes, her sweet laugh, and how one day, they unexpectedly got ripped away from them. 

Ren placed his hand on Jaune’s neck, using his thumb to rub his cheek. Jaune’s eyes shot open, before his face settled into a soft smile. Gazing at one another, Ren felt calm and cozy. Perhaps having Nora out for the night would be nice. He’d have to adjust to not hearing her obnoxious snores that had become a sound of comfort for him after many years of associating them with safety, and he’d have to go one night without feeling her tiny hands wrap around his waist, but perhaps something new was needed. 

Perhaps he needed a night with Jaune alone, even if they spoke no words as they lay there, legs entangled and breaths mixing. 

The lateness of the night finally started to kick into Ren, and before he knew it, all went black and all was quiet. 

——

Howling winds knocked into Ren, forcing the breath out of him and making it impossible to hear. 

Pitch black darkness. An endless void that stretched on for miles, crushing him and suffocating his lungs, weighing on his muscles. Screaming. Very, very loud screaming. 

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t move, but he was running, but he was going no where and the wind rushed in his ears. Shouting. People shouting names of loved ones, of deceased ones, shouting for the chance someone could help. 

Amidst the screams, amidst the yells and shouts and groans and wails, only three made it to his ears and forced him to listen. 

It was them. His teammates, his friends, lovers, family. Screaming. Screaming his name, screaming each other’s names. 

(He could’ve sworn, later, after waking up and processing this hell, he heard Pyrrha.)

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe. Was he screaming? He couldn’t hear himself over how  _fucking loud the wind was._

He ran. He stayed in place. He moved quickly and was stagnant. Their cries only become more and more pained and loud until all he heard was his name being screamed, louder and louder, and  _holy shit this wind_ ,  and he ran, and stayed in place, and he couldn’t breathe and-

“Ren!” Jaune. Jaune with a hand on his arm, the other on his chest, pressing lightly. Jaune, who looked startled and messy and very, very concerned. 

Ren grabbed for them, finally able to hold something instead of being blind in a void. A few gulps of air in his lungs, and he was sobbing, wishing for soothing circles to be rubbed on his back and sweet nothings whispered in his ears. 

He couldn’t hear Jaune gently calling his name over the blood rushing furiously in his ears. He was in some other far off world, fear and shame and hopelessness all combined in one and making up his entire essence. 

He was only brought back for a moment when he felt a small kiss on his temple, to which he finally made eye contact with Jaune, and to which he finally tried to listen outside his own head. 

When Jaune knew he had at least some of Ren’s attention, he whispered a soft, “Hey.” Ren stared into his shining blue eyes, and weeped. He heard his shouts, louder and clearer than Oscar’s or Nora’s. He’d felt guilty, for some reason, as if the cause - in the hell his brain created - of Jaune’s imaginary pain was because of him. 

Jaune squeezed his hand, and said again, “Hey, hey.” Ren looked up, trying so, so hard to focus. “Can you list five things you can see, bud?”

Five things he can see. Well, one, he saw Jaune’s eyes. 

“Your eyes.” Raspy. He didn’t need any more confirmation than that to know he had been screaming. 

Jaune smiled, “Good.”

It was hard to see in the dark, but he managed to allow his eyes to adjust just enough to see some things. The light shining under the door, Jaune’s shield gleaming in the moonlight, the blanket, crumpled and half on the ground, and lastly the lamp, which they both decided to leave off. 

When Ren was done with his list, Jaune squeezed his hand, his hand that he hadn’t let go of since he started. 

“Perfect. Now, four things you can touch around you?” Jaune had his voice low, calm and quiet. He spoke smoothly and in a way that made Ren feel safe. He kind of wanted him to talk forever until her fell back asleep, as Nora would often do, but he decided to trust in the way Jaune led him. 

“Your hands are soft, Jaune,” Ren gave as an answer, hoping the knight would understand that’s the way he answered. Jaune curled his fingers around Ren’s at this, an acceptance of his reply. 

He could touch the bed, springy and really not all that comfortable, his pillow, flat and it dire need of a wash, Jaune’s hair, which, rather than saying so, he reached out and laced his hands in. Jaune found a more comfortable position to allow Ren to keep his hand there. 

His heart still racing, he wondered if Jaune’s list of things would end. He wasn’t sure if he wanted them to. Luckily for him, Jaune mourned our a, “Now, three things you hear?”

Breathing. From him and Jaune. A howling wind outside-

A howling wind outside. So that’s what had made it into his dream. A storm approaching. He smiled at that, knowing his brain hadn’t completely lost itself. 

One more thing. What else was there to hear? Not much else was happening in the house, with everyone being asleep-

Were those footsteps? With Jaune’s bead lifting up from the crook of Ren’s neck where he’d decided it’d be most comfortable, they were indeed footsteps. 

“That,” was all Ren said before the door creaked open, revealing a slightly disheveled Oscar, eyes wide. Said wide eyes relaxed when he realized his team wasn’t in any immediate danger. He silently walked over to the end of the bed, taking a seat. They waited for him to say something, before realizing he wouldn’t until they initiated first. Jaune quickly returned his focus back to Ren, his list not yet over. 

“Two things you can smell?”

The murky wood of the old home was a constant, especially in this room. At first, it had given Ren a headache with how strong it was when they first moved in. 

With Jaune being right underneath his chin, he could smell his apple shampoo he loved to use, its scent faint in the fact his hair had been washed over 12 hours ago. 

“And I believe taste is next, yeah?” Oscar piped up from his position down further on the bed, gleaming green eyes showing he was smiling, though it was hard to tell in the dim light. He felt Jaune’s hair tickle his neck and he bobbed it up and down in a yes. 

Ren reaches for Jaune’s hand, the one that was wrapped lazily around his waist, and pressed a kiss to its knuckles. 

“You.”

Jaune brought his hand back down, this time squeezing Ren a bit as he, again, wrapped his arm around his waist. Content with where they were, Ren fell down on his back gently, Oscar crawling up and worming his way next to Ren. It wasn’t uncommon - nor unwelcome - for the once-farmhand to hop into bed with them for whatever reason. Tonight, it was because he wanted to make his teammate, friend, family feel safe and loved. 

Ren had almost forgotten about the nightmare, the soul reason he was up right now in the first place. Holding Oscar’s hand and caressing Jaune’s hair, he’d almost forgotten this wasn’t the usual for his nightmares. 

And he couldn’t be happier. Happier with the fact his family had managed to help him, when they most definitely had no clue what they were doing. But they tried, and they tried because of him. 

And that was enough to allow Ren to close his eyes and drift away into a dreamless sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> well that was a lot lol. i hope you enjoyed this roller coaster! please let me know what you think, if you loved it, hated it, and PLEASE, if you have ANY constructive criticism, i’d LOVE to hear it. thanks! and have a wonderful day/night, and remember to stay hydrated!


End file.
